


I Like You A Latte

by ragnorfellintomyheart



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Barista!Magnus, It's All Just Fluff Really, M/M, Manager!Maia, Smoker!Alec, Strangers to Lovers, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 08:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12626856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragnorfellintomyheart/pseuds/ragnorfellintomyheart
Summary: Magnus Bane works at Downworld Cafe, a quiet coffee shop in New York. When the hottest guy to ever walk through their doors comes in, Magnus takes it upon himself to get to know the customer with somewhat disasterous attempts.And why does he have to be a smoker?





	I Like You A Latte

**Author's Note:**

> This little piece was inspired by a prompt I found on twitter by @meowbanes and it was too to good to ignore. 
> 
> Enjoy!

April 25th had been dubbed by the staff at Downworld Café as Doomsday. To Magnus, it was the simply known as the beginning of the start of his life.

  
There wasn’t anything special about it to begin with but Magnus had subconsciously made sure that he was prepared for anything the day was going to throw at him. Despite being stuck in the drab uniform which consisted of black jeans (Magnus had managed to convince Raphael that he could wear ripped ones and it had taken a lot of pleading), a black t-shirt with the company logo and an apron, Magnus was rocking it. He had made sure to put extra care into his make up and his hair was styled perfectly, the tips dyed gold to match his eyeliner.

  
Monday’s were their quietest day and the customers came and went with sometimes long intervals in between them. The regulars who loved to stop for a chat about their lives were always his favourite, office people in suits grabbing their beverages in a hurry on their way to work and the occasional asshole who always had something to moan about. Magnus kept the smile plastered to his face at all times, despite the absolute bastard drabbling on about the lack of syrup in his latte. Just another day at work.

Magnus glanced up at the clock in between drinks orders, disappointed by the lack of time that had passed since he had last checked. Maia was still relaying drinks in his direction from the till and he kept his attention to the drinks, after all staring at the clock wasn’t much better than watching paint dry. Magnus pushed some hair out of his face, it was starting to get way too long and Raphael had already started making jokes that soon he would have to wear a hair net. Not if he could help it. He finished the drink he had been doing, pushing it out towards the customers that were waiting and shouting the order out.

  
A hand reached out to grab the cup and Magnus took a glance up at the customer, flashing his usual customer service smile, polite enough but nothing compared to his genuine ones. Nothing, not even copious amounts of make up and hair styling could have prepared him for the man, if Magnus could even call him that. No man was that perfect. 

Sure, Magnus had found customer’s cute before. There were multiple regulars that he flirted with, even a couple that he had dated but this was a whole other level of handsome. The hand was attached to an arm that seemed to have been sculpted by Adonis himself, the muscles defined but not large enough to be unattractive. Porcelain skin that was only marked by multiple tattoos that Magnus couldn’t define as anything he knew.

He followed the arm up to where the most beautiful face graced his eyes. Dark hair, almost enough to be black, sat tousled on the customer’s head and a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes glanced down at Magnus’ own. The customer smiled back, offering Magnus a thanks for the drink and that was him done. He was in love. If smiles were stars then this one was a sun, lighting up everything that got to see its presence and Magnus would have happily gone blind staring at it.  
Barely seconds had passed but to Magnus it had felt like years. Time seemed to have simply stopped and then it all caught up as the customer pulled the cup away from Magnus’ own hand, his fingers still slightly gripping the beverage.

Magnus barely registered the situation as the customer yelled, pulling away from the bar as hot liquid poured over the counter.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” Magnus pulled out of his trance, reaching over to grab some tissues and a wet cloth. The customer was holding the fabric of his shirt away from his skin, those hazel eyes wide in shock and Magnus had to bite his tongue before he made a comment about not minding if his shirt came off.

“I am so sorry.”  
The customer was still dabbing at his shirt, the shock starting to wear off on his features and he handed the cloth back to Magnus when he was done.

  
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” If the customer’s look wasn’t enough, Magnus almost lost it again when he spoke. His voice was deep, the New York drawl prominent enough but not overpowering and Magnus wondered if that’s what Angel’s sounded like. Since Magnus had moved to New York, the accent had always bothered him. It was too harsh, everyone sounding like they were angry all the time but Magnus swore that this man could have threatening him and his entire family and he would still feel pleased about it. It was only when Magnus felt an elbow into his arm that he realised the customer had spoken again and he turned to Maia, the owner of said elbow, for clarification. 

“Magnus, another drink for the customer?” 

“Ah! Right yes, of course.” Magnus felt a smirk grow on his lips, his confidence growing again now that the initial shock had passed.

“What was the order again? I was too busy trying to get this lovely gentleman’s shirt off.” That was a more appropriate time to say it.

  
Maia rolled her eyes, repeating the order again. The customer simply scoffed, a small smile playing on his lips. Magnus felt his heart flutter. Maia muttered something that sounded an awful lot like “when you’re love life is so bad you have to resort to scalding customers as a pick up line” before returning to serve the other customers at the bar.

Magnus grinned at her as he prepared to make the drink again.  
After the second attempt at handing the customer their drink which thankfully was successful, Magnus became too busy to be able to keep tabs on where the gorgeous customer had gone. After the rush had gone however, his eyes scanned the store for that mop of dark hair. Sadly, he was unable to and he couldn’t help the pout on his lips even if he was trying. 

“Are you still hung up on that guy? Woow, Magnus.” Maia chuckled, nudging his arm with hers. 

“Did you see him, Maia? That man was designed by a greater being than any man.” 

“I did see him. But honestly, spilling a drink down him? You haven’t done that since Etta.”  
Magnus nudged her back, harder this time and Maia chuckled as she rocked on her heels. 

“Etta was a long time ago, Maia. It’s time to move on. And I am definitely planning to move on him.” 

“It was 6 months ago, Magnus.” There was no hiding the roll of her eyes. “Now can you go clear the tables outside? I’ve asked Lily but apparently she’s ‘too backed up in the kitchen’” 

“I don’t see why you don’t just fire her. She’s more trouble than she’s worth, darling.” 

There was another eye roll from Maia and Magnus grabbed a tray from the side as he made his way out of the café. 

Magnus was always grateful to go outside at any point during the day. The café could get very hot due to all the running machines and it had been getting increasingly warmer along with the weather outside. The spring air was a welcome relief as he stepped out of the front doors and he began to clear one of the tables that were situated just in front of the doors. 

“No, Izzy. I’m fine. It was just a drink, not like I got caught in the line of a flamethrower.” 

Magnus looked up from the tray he had been loading, glancing over at the other tables where that familiar, heavenly voice had sounded from. The God Of All Customer’s was sat at the other table; a laptop was open in front of him, the drink still steaming beside it. He was talking on the phone, his eyes rolled back in annoyance. The person he was on the phone to, Izzy, was obviously ranting about something and Magnus watched as the GOALC (for short), reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package. He reached inside, pulling out a cigarette and held it between his teeth as he reached for his lighter. 

“Of course.” Magnus muttered under his breath, low enough to not be heard. “there’s always something, isn’t there?” He loaded up the tray as the first waft of smoke drifted in his direction. Magnus fought the urge to gag as he walked back into the café.  
~  
Much to Magnus’ delight, the customer didn’t seem to be too put off by Magnus’ slip up and started to come back into the store more often. What was once a week became twice a week and within a couple of months, he was appearing almost every single day. Ever since the first day, Magnus had started trying to have conversations with the customer, whose name he had recently learned was Alec thanks to his sister who had come in with him once. She was beautiful much like he was and the resemblance between them was noticeable enough that Magnus didn’t even have to ask if they were related. That and Alec had talked about her on the phone a lot and he had picked up that she was his sibling. 

Izzy had leaned over the bar as Magnus made her drink, a mischievous glint in her eye as he handed over the cup. “You know…” Her voice was much different to her brothers, the slight hint of a Latino accent unlike the New York drawl he sported. “Alec might not mind his shirts getting ruined but this is a designer. Please try and be careful.” 

Magnus had found the comment humorous and had laughed as she took the drink, promising that he wouldn’t dare touch a Vuitton shirt. Izzy’s eyes had widened at that, grinning as she praised Magnus on his fashion taste as she began to walk outside to where her brother was sat, the same layout he always had at his table. Laptop out, drink always by the side and a damned cigarette in between his lips. 

Magnus had tried not to care. After all, Alec meant nothing to him. Sure they had exchanged pleasantries and Magnus, on more than one occasion, had attempted to flirt with the other gentleman but he was always given a chuckle and eye roll in response. They had a working relationship where Alec was a customer and Magnus was a professional but the smoking bothered him. Really bothered him. Especially the amount of cigarettes that Alec could go through in one sitting as he typed on his laptop, a constant cigarette always hanging from his lips. 

It was such an ugly habit for a beautiful person and Magnus found himself wondering what must have gotten him into the habit. The various people he had met who smoked, friends and lovers alike had always put it down to stress. Magnus himself had even gotten into the habit at some point when life was so low he hadn’t cared about the risks. But then he had lost a close friend to the risks and he had given it up all together. Watching Alec go through what could easily be a pack in a few hours was giving Magnus a severe case of anxiety. 

It was perhaps that anxiety that drove Magnus to do something that he had never done with someone he didn’t exactly consider a friend before. 

It had become a routine. Alec would come in, order his drink and Magnus would insist on making it for him, no matter the circumstance, there would be one sided flirting on Magnus’ behalf and Alec would chuckle or tell him to behave depending on the day and mood. Then Alec would go and sit outside, pull his laptop out and take a sip of his coffee before taking that Goddamn packet and lighter out of his pocket. 

Magnus was once again clearing tables out the front, the second part of their routine where Alec would smile over at him and Magnus would once again spark up a conversation when the urge had gotten too much. Alec was taking a sip of his drink, the cigarette hanging from his fingers and before Magnus could even register what he was doing, he reached over and plucked it out of Alec’s hands. Alec looked up from his drink, one of his eyebrow’s raising slightly in confusion.

Magnus fought the urge to swoon at the way he looked and he threw the cigarette to the ground, stamping it out with his foot.  
Alec reacted this time, putting his cup down on the table and the look of confusion turned to annoyance. He didn’t get a chance to speak though as Magnus quickly hurried back into the café, running a hand through his hair as he processed what he had just done. Shit, had he just ruined whatever they had been starting to have? Would Alec hate him now? Maia gave him a look as he burst into the kitchen, eyes wide and his bottom lip in between his teeth. Magnus simply held up his hand to say he didn’t want to discuss it as he walked over to the fridges and nibbled on one of the pastries. 

Magnus had accepted that was probably the last time he would ever see Alec at the café again. Who would want to come back when the barista that you may or may not have been attracted to invaded your personal space by plucking the cigarette out of your fingers and stomping on it before running off? Magnus knew he sure wouldn’t and if he did, it wouldn’t be to get a coffee. 

The next day Magnus deliberately toned his look down, after all without Alec there was no one to impress. His make up was as natural as he could make it and his hair its natural colour, styled to stay out of his face but nothing elaborate. 

It had gotten to 1pm and Magnus really did begin to accept Alec wasn’t going to show. By now the other man had gotten his second coffee and was sitting there, smoking as he always did. Today he had been a no show. Magnus took it upon himself to stay in the kitchen, clearing dishes and stocking up items instead of being out on the bar. It was a chilled environment in the kitchen, never getting too busy that you couldn’t keep on top of what you were doing and it was a refreshing break from the madness that the bar could turn into. 

Magnus was filling the condiment unit when he heard someone clear his throat behind him. He put the sugar down and turned around to find Alec looking at him, a small smile on his lips and that singular eyebrow raised. 

“You know, no one here makes my coffee as good as you.”

Magnus couldn’t tell if Alec was going to bring up the incident yesterday. He spoke as if nothing had happened and Magnus jumped at the words, rubbing his hands together as he grinned. 

“Well, I suppose I had better serve my favourite customer then.” 

“As if I’m your favourite…”  
Alec followed Magnus back to the bar, leaning against the counter as Magnus prepared the drink. 

“Why wouldn’t you be, Alexander?”

  
Alec’s eyebrows raised higher at the name, his head dropping slightly as if he was almost embarrassed, or maybe afraid? 

“It’s just Alec.” He looked up at that, the emotion faded from his face as he smiled again. “And because, you serve hundreds of people every day. What makes me so special?”

  
Magnus handed over the drink, his fingers lingering slightly as Alec reached out to grab the cup, his own fingers gently brushing against Alec’s and he shivered at the contact. Had he really fallen that hard?

  
“You, _Alec_ are definitely one in a million.” Magnus let go of the cup, his eyes lingering slightly too long on the hazel’s in front of him.

After 3 months of getting little to no response from the other man, Magnus felt like he was finally getting somewhere. And of course Magnus couldn’t let it get too deep. This was a professional relationship. 

“I mean, coffee definitely isn’t what gets me up in the morning if I’m expecting to see you.”

Alec laughed, his head falling backwards and Magnus swore that the heavens opened and Angels sang at that very moment. Alec muttered something under his breath, the smile still plastered to his face before he walked back to the door, pushing it open and disappearing outside to his usual table. Magnus’ heart was fluttering, a stupid sort of grin plastered to his face. Who was he kidding, there was nothing professional about this.

  
He avoided going outside to see Alec today. It had surprised him that Alec had turned up but he didn’t want to push his luck. He could see Alec in his usual position, hunched over the laptop with the cigarette in his hands and Magnus knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself again from knocking it out of the other man’s hands.

  
The next few days passed in a similar fashion. Alec never brought up what had happened and Magnus didn’t mention it either. 5 days after “the incident” however, Magnus was cleaning the tables near to the window when he noticed Alec coughing outside. As much as he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t. For as long as Magnus had known Alec, he had never seemed to have sported the cough that came along with most smokers and he recognised the sort of cough almost instantly. Frowning, he placed the tray down on the table and walked outside. Alec looked up at him, his eyes watering slightly from the force of the cough and he opened his mouth to say something when Magnus held up a finger in front of his lips before opening his palm.  
“Hand them over.”

  
“I… what?”

  
“You heard me, Alexander. Hand them over.” Magnus gestured his hand towards the packet on the table and Alec frowned, almost protectively placing his hand over them.

  
“I don’t have to give you them.”  
Magnus frowned back at the other man, both of them waiting to say so much more than what they were and he continued holding his palm out in a silent protest. Alec didn’t respond, matching Magnus’ glare with an even bigger one of his own. It didn’t last long as Alec broke out in another cough, placing a hand over his mouth and taking a gulp of his coffee.

Magnus raised his eyebrow, gesturing with his hand again. 

“I’ve got a cold.” Alec almost sounded like a child that had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have and Magnus felt a bitter laugh bubble in his throat.

  
“I know that cough, Alexander.”  
“Can you stop calling me that?”

  
“Will you stop killing yourself?” 

  
“I am not-“  
Alec cut his sentence short as another cough hit him, seemingly worse than the last couple had been. Magnus took the opportunity to grab the packet off of the table in front of him and Alec only glared in his direction as the cough started to die. Magnus simply raised an eyebrow in his direction, causing an even larger glare from the other male.

“You were saying?”

  
Alec sighed, taking another gulp of his drink and he looked down at the table, almost looking sheepish. “Why do you care so much?”

  
He never got an answer as the door open and Maia’s head poked out, demanding that Magnus actually came in and started doing his job again. Magnus made a point of throwing the packet away before he went back inside.  
~  
The next day when Alec arrived, there was definitely tension. Magnus still made his drink, after all he wasn’t going to deny the man any lesser of a coffee but there wasn’t the usual chit chat that both of them had developed. Alec barely met his eyes the entire time before he went outside.

  
“What happened between you two?” Maia was watching from the till, a slight pout on her lips. “I thought you guys were finally starting to hit it off with each other.” 

  
“Alec doesn’t seem to realise he’s already smoking hot. Even without that damned cancer stick hanging from his lips.” Magnus couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice as he walked into the kitchen.

  
Alec was normally gone by the time that it came to Magnus’ break and it always seemed to be a trick of fate that he missed it.

There was nothing Magnus wanted more than to be able to join the other man for a drink and actually get to talk to him. When Magnus stepped out today, his coat draped over the top of his uniform he was surprised to find Alec still in his usual spot. Magnus slipped outside, a drink in one hand and a sandwich in the other and he sat down on the chair next to Alec’s, waiting for him to take notice. 

He did. His hazel eyes slowly panned from the laptop screen up to the male now seated at the table and they widened slowly as they realised who it was. “What are you doing?” 

Magnus took a sip of his coffee as he opened up the sandwich, crossing one of his legs over the other. “Having my lunch. You always seem rather lonely when you sit here by yourself.” 

The smallest hint of a smile appeared on Alec’s lips and he ran a hand through his hair. Magnus noticed the slight shake as he did so and Magnus took in the lack of his usual cigarettes on the table. 

“Well, my usual conversation partner has been avoiding me for a couple of days so yeah… it’s been pretty lonely.” 

“I was not ignoring you. You were ignoring me.” 

“No I wasn’t..” The smile disappeared from his face as he glanced back down at the laptop. Magnus looked over quickly at what was occupying the screen. He had always been curious about Alec did for a profession, after all he spent all of his time in the coffee shop with his laptop and normally wore jeans that looked years old and sweaters. A document was set up, words covering the page and Magnus caught glimpses of names. So he was a writer… 

“Okay, maybe I was a little bit.” The words snapped Magnus back to looking at Alec’s face. “But you know, you deserved it.” 

“I know. I shouldn’t have invaded in your personal life.” 

“Why do you care so much?” Alec looked back at Magnus again, their eyes meeting and Magnus swore that he lost his breath everytime they met. “Ever since the first say I came in here, you watch me and I see the way you look when I smoke. You look like you’re my mother scalding me and believe me, that’s not a compliment in any form.” 

“You really don’t see it, do you?” 

“See what?” 

“The effect you have. From that first moment you walked into my shop, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. You’re so wonderful in so many ways that it hurts me to see you indulge in such a dirty habit.” 

Alec sighed, running a hand through his hair again. He glanced back at the laptop but Magnus couldn’t tear his eyes away. 

“I know I should stop. I’ve been telling myself for months that I need to but things are stressful. And when they get stressful, it’s hard to ignore the temptation.”

Alec glanced his eyes back up and scoffed slightly at Magnus’ expression. “I know that look and it’s a horrible excuse. But it’s not as east as everyone thinks. 

“I know, Alexander. I went through it myself some years ago.” Alec glanced up again, his eyes meeting Magnus’ again. “My previous job had failed, my long term relationship had gone down in flames and I became a mess. I was drinking, smoking, sleeping my way through life and I didn’t care. But then a good friend came to me and told me they had lung cancer." Magnus took a deep breath. It was a subject he always hated discussing but Alec needed to hear it. "I was right there with him until he finally died and I remember the way that he looked towards the end. That every ounce of energy he had always had was gone. His skin was pale, he had lost so much weight and the pain was unbearable for him.”

Alec was watching more intently now and Magnus could see tears n the corner of his eyes. 

“I promised myself then that I would stop. That no matter how hard life seemed, no matter how stressful it got that nothing would be worth going through that amount of pain myself. That’s why I care, Alec. I actually quite like you. In fact, I really like you. You’re smart, you put up with my jokes and do you have an idea how gorgeous you are? I can’t see you go through that as well.”

  
There was no denying the tears in Alec’s eyes now and he reached a hand up to wipe them away. 

“Plus, have you ever kissed a smoker? It leaves a horrible taste in your mouth and makes a very enjoyable thing not so enjoyable.” 

“You want to kiss me?” The surprise in Alec’s voice was plain to hear, as if he hadn’t quite realised what Magnus had just been saying and was now putting the pieces together.

  
“Yes, Alexander. I want to kiss you. But only when you can promise me that I won’t be tasting tar on my lips. That’s one fashion trend I definitely won’t be trying again.” Magnus smiled and Alec blushed, he actually blushed and Magnus felt his heart melt.

This man that he had been watching for almost 3 months. The man that sat there with his black coffee and seemed to only have a smile for his siblings and Magnus was blushing.

  
Magnus glanced at the clock, noticing the time and realising he only had a couple of minutes left of his break. He reached over and grabbed the coffee cup from beside Alec, taking out his pen and scribbling his number on the top of the lid. “Call me if you ever need tips. For smoking, or any other sort of relief you might need.” Magnus winked, placing the cup back down as he gathered his rubbish and walked back inside, completely unable to wipe the smile off of his face.

  
The months that followed were a blur of emotions for everyone at Downworld Café. After Alec had actually rung Magnus back, the two began dating and now Alec was spending almost every waking moment in the coffee shop. Maia constantly found herself pulling Magnus away from his boyfriend to actually do some work and Raphael had started promising that if they didn’t cut it out, Alec would end up getting banned.

  
Before either of them were aware of the time passed, April 25th had rolled around again and one year had passed since Alec had first stepped into the coffee shop. Unlike his first time, Magnus was already standing at the counter, drink in his hand prepared just for Alec and as he walked over, Magnus slid the drink across the bar.

  
“For my favourite customer. Just the way you like it.

  
“Thank you, my favourite barista.” 

They both grinned at each other, quickly sharing a kiss as Maia walked onto the bar and groaned at the pair. “Do you guys ever stop, seriously?”

  
So while April 25th was known as Doomsday to the staff at Downword Café, to Magnus and Alec it was simply the beginning of the rest of their lives.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on twitter: @ireadwaytoomuch  
> Tumblr: @ragnorfellintomyheart 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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